Difficulty: Challenger (Level 2)
Whenever Maple Lam visits her childhood home in Sha Tin, she visits a place that holds many important childhood memories.
“When I go back to Hong Kong, I go to the same library that I always went to as a kid,” explained Lam. “The last time I was there, I saw a copy of [my book] in the graphic novel section.”
She has written and illustrated several books aimed at children. Some of her more recent works include the first two books in a graphic novel series called Monkey King and the World of Myths.
Importance of reading
Lam’s love of reading and art started at a young age.
Lam said reading is “so important” for young people. This is especially true nowadays, as technology and social media have shortened attention spans: “[Reading] helps you focus.
It brings you into a brand new world, fiction or non-fiction. It’s a new world that you slowly get to immerse yourself into,” she said.
“Magical things, anything that’s worthwhile, takes time. You have to let your brain learn that.”
Lam moved from Hong Kong to Los Angeles in the United States when she was 11 years old. She called the move “brutal” because of the new environment. Her life was now filled with the English language. She used books to stay connected to her culture and language.
“I’ve never stopped reading Chinese books, and that became helpful in making sure I don’t forget [my] roots,” she said.
Her experience growing up in Hong Kong and Los Angeles influenced her most recent picture book, Dim Sum, Here We Come! The book shows how sharing a meal together can be an act of love.
Language of love
One source of inspiration for her book was a story Lam read when she was young. It was about a boy who wanted to eat a hamburger and his grandfather, who wanted to eat char siu bao.
“It was such a brilliant way to talk about growing up in Hong Kong and how Western and Eastern cultures collided,” she said.
The book also showed the cultural differences between the older and younger generations.
“I always wanted to try to recreate something that depicts how it is to be Asian-American in America and my experience of going to dim sum places here in the US,” said Lam. “Sharing food – that’s the language of love.”
Use the puzzle below to test your knowledge of the vocabulary words in the story.
Suggested answers
Before you read: Answers may vary [i.e. I learned many new interesting stories; reading helps me learn English; books help me learn about other people and cultures.]
Stop and think: Maple Lam started using books to stay connected to her home and understand her culture.
Consider: Lam wanted to show how cooking and sharing a meal together can be a way to express love. She also wanted to show her experience of eating dim sum in a Western setting.
